Debra Hackett and Patricia Brady

Patricia Brady (pictured right) and her sister Debra Hackett recorded this Legacy interview in partnership with the Roswell Park Cancer Institute in Buffalo, New York, in which Debra remembers a favorite trip she took with Patricia to Hawaii where they toured the island and went to Waimea Canyon State Park.

Recorded in June 2014, Debra remembers a favorite trip she took with Patricia to Hawaii where they toured the island and went to Waimea Canyon State Park, also spending time at their favorite breakfast place—McDonald’s.

They also reminisce about another excursion, when they were passengers on a Richard Simmons cruise to Jamaica. Patricia describes Richard Simmons as a fun person to be with, but she noted how he teased her for not coming to the morning exercise class when she had been attending regularly, “Boy, did that aggravate me!”

At the conclusion of the clip, the sisters discuss the effects of the chemo on Patricia, her weight loss, her inability to taste food, and Debra’s hopes for when Patricia leaves the hospital, “…we’ll see what happens once you even get outta here. I’d like you to get to Shakespeare in the Park again.”

Note: This interview has not been fact-checked, and may contain sensitive personal information about living persons.

Joseph Natale and Greg Natale

Joseph Natale (left) whose wife died in 1977 talks with his son Greg about raising three children without their mother present, becoming active in local theater productions, and falling in love and remarrying.

Originally aired September 12, 2008, on NPR’s Morning Edition.